Cooler Weather On The Way But Please Don’t Call It A ‘Polar Vortex’

Market Watch ^ | 7-11-2014

[blam]

July 11, 2014

Yes, weather forecasts show cooler temperatures on the way for the U.S. Midwest and Northeast next week. But please don’t call it a summertime return of last winter’s dreaded “polar vortex.”

Some meteorologists are getting downright grumpy as news organizations, including some TV weathercasters, rush to recapitalize on the hype by deeming next week’s forecast the return of the vortex.

(snip)

[logic101.net]

If you would have read my post you might have seen that my point was they come up with “new” terms to try to scare the uninformed. Stop sharing your arrogance.

[stormer]

As I pointed out, the term is not “new”, nor is it being used to “scare the uninformed”; it is a term long used to describe a specific atmospheric quality. Last winter’s jet stream shift and the resulting flood of arctic air into the United States brought the term into a broader consciousness, but that is only because of the degree that similar events are somewhat unusual. The situation now is similar, with a deep low pressure trough over the Midwest and a persistent west coast high. For example, right now in Minneapolis, where a mid July average highs are in the 80s, it is currently around 60 degrees - today’s high will be lower than yesterday’s low. In Seattle, the trend is reversed with highs topping out around 20 degrees above average. This is a significant event and is explained by the southward movement of the polar vortex.